Radar gun toting ‘vigilantes’ take aim at speeding motorists

SPEED gun ‘vigilantes’ could soon be unleashed across Scotland.

Volunteers would be given special training by traffic officers before being sent out with speed guns, under plans being considered by police chiefs.

Details of cars breaking the speed limit would be passed on to officers.

Police Scotland has been trialling its Community Speedwatch scheme in 12 towns and villages in Fife. It will now assess the pilot projects before deciding if the initiative will be extended across the country.

Some Fife residents have hailed the scheme. In one trial in Kinglassie, 203 motorists were detected driving at between 26mph and 44mph in a 20mph zone.

But Hugh Bladon, a spokesman for the Alliance of British Drivers, said: ‘It is a form of vigilantism, which we don’t like at all, and it is concentrating on how fast rather than how safely people are driving.

‘It is daft and they usually end up reporting neighbours and people they don’t like.

‘Police should not rely on the public to do their jobs, they should get out of the police station, get on the roads and do the job we are paying them to do.’

Superintendent Iain Murray of Police Scotland said: ‘If a person is suggested or shown to be speeding as a result of a Community Speedwatch scheme, Police Scotland will contact them and they will be warned about their driving by means of a letter. No fine or penalty points on a driving licence can be given.

‘The effectiveness of Community Speedwatch schemes is still being evaluated and no decision has yet been taken about whether they will be rolled out across Scotland.’